Chapter Seven

"Hey, are you ready!" I yelled from the living room of Ellie's house. The taping was scheduled to begin that afternoon, and Ellie and I were going early to get good seats. The community center was just down the street from my house.

"Coming!" Ellie bounded down the stairs in a yellow t-shirt and jean shorts. I laughed. She wanted to make sure she stood out. I had opted for a green outfit. Isaac's favorite color is green…Stop it, I commanded myself. Stop thinking about him. It'll only cause you pain. "Here," Ellie said as we started walking down towards the center.

"Oh, it's our banner!" I knew they'd remember the banner. They'd been impressed with it. "Good thinking."

"Thanks." Ellie beamed.

As we neared the building, I noticed only a few people were there. More would come later. It was only 8 in the morning. Ellie and I parked it on the sidewalk.

"Look at this," Ellie said quietly. I looked at her.

"Okay," I mumbled. I flipped the envelope over and opened it. "Dear Ellie, I hope you had a good time at our concert last week. You and Gabrielle were certainly different than many of the girls we've talked to. You know how to handle yourself with 'celebrities' around. How is Gabrielle, by the way? Write me soon. Peace, love and bullet-proof marshmallows, Zac Hanson."

"Ellie! He wrote you?" I said quietly. She nodded excitedly. Why hadn't Isaac written…? Stop it!

"That was what I forgot! We exchanged addresses. Gabby, it's too good to be true!" I couldn't believe it. I hugged her.

"Ellie, do you want anything? There's a little bakery around the corner," I said four hours later.

"Yeah, whatever you get is cool with me."

I nodded and set off down the street. This little bakery was really good, my favorite spot in town, yet it was so small, most people didn't know about it. I had already made up my mind to get apple danishes for Ellie and me.

"Hey, Gabrielle!" the owner called.

"Hey! Can I get my usual apple danish and a Sprite?"

"Sure! Does Ellie want one too?"

"Yes, please, except with water." The owner handed me a bag, a Sprite and a bottled water. I paid, waved goodbye and started out of the bakery.

I collided with someone at the door. My drinks flew everywhere, and I landed on my back on the floor.

"Oh, geez…I'm so sorry…" A hand reached out and I looked up into the eyes of Taylor Hanson. "Gabrielle?"

"Taylor," I said, very embarrassed. "How are you doing?"

"I'm great. I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay." Taylor helped me to my feet.

"Let me replace your drinks," Taylor offered. I agreed. "Come on, Ike! This is the place!" Isaac appeared in the doorway, his little sister, Avery, by his side.

"Hey, Gabrielle," Isaac greeted me.

"Hey, Isaac," I said. Isaac, Avery and I followed Taylor to the register, where he replaced my drinks.

"Thanks, Taylor. I've gotta go now." I had decided not to mention "Storytellers". At least they'd recognize me, I thought wryly. I was wet all over from the drink mishap.

"Maybe we'll see you around," Isaac said.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Taylor asked me.

"Me? Oh…" I knew he was referring to my breakup with Jeremy. "I'm fine," I said, putting a bright smile on my face.

Taylor looked at Isaac. "Glad you're feeling better. We'll see you around."

"See ya." I walked out of the building and stood against a brick wall of the bakery. It felt so good to see Isaac again, and at least he remembered me. I sighed and started back to Ellie.

"Dude, what happened?" I asked, standing up to greet Gabrielle. The first thing I noticed was Gabrielle's wet outfit. Her hair was falling out of her clip and she looked upset or something.

"There was a little accident at the bakery," Gabrielle said, sitting down and handing me my water.

"What happened?" I asked again, letting the cool water trickle down my throat.

"Taylor bumped into me, and I spilled my drinks. He offered to pay for them, and then Isaac came in with Avery. I was so embarrassed. I was all wet," Gabrielle groaned.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure they didn't notice," I said, biting into my danish. "How are they doing?"

"Good." Gabby wouldn't say any more, so I just ate my danish.

"You saw Gabrielle?!" I exclaimed to Tay and Ike.

"Yeah, she seemed a little happier, too," Ike smiled.

"No, you guys. Don't you get it? If Gabrielle is here, then Ellie must be close by! Maybe she'll be at the "Storytellers" taping."

Taylor shrugged. "Maybe she will be. You can probably catch her afterwards."

I sighed as Ike and Tay went off to take Mackie for a look around. I had to see Ellie again. I just had to!

I wonder if she got my letter, I thought. I wonder if she even cares. Of course she does! I corrected myself. Or at least she acted like she did.

"Come on, Zac," Jessica called. "Let's go with Ike, Tay and Mackie."

"All right, grab Avery and we'll go." I pulled myself up. How am I ever going to make it through morning until after "Storytellers"?

I had never seen "Storytellers" before, since I didn't have cable, but I had heard about it. The guests would perform a few songs and then answer some questions.

Gabrielle and I sat second row, right in front of Taylor's keyboards. I sighed. I wouldn't be able to see Zac very well.

Within a few minutes, the brothers walked out on stage and waved at the audience. I saw Zac's eyes sweep across the audience. Finally they met mine and locked there for an instant. As they went to take their places, I noticed Zac comment to Taylor. Taylor smiled knowingly and when he went over to his keyboards, he casually pushed them a little farther out, giving me a perfect view of Zac!

Gosh, Taylor is so nice! I thought.

"Gabby, did you see that?" I asked.

"What…huh?" Gabby swung around, tearing her eyes from Ike.

"Oh, never mind." I shook my head, seeing that Gabby was too enamored with Ike to notice anything else. My eyes drifted up to where Ike stood with his guitar, and I saw that he was looking at Gabby. He smiled down at her, and to my joy, I saw Gabby smile back. She had just opened her door a crack.

"Hey, guys," Taylor said into his microphone. "Welcome to Storytellers!" The audience screamed and quieted as Isaac sat down, picked up his acoustic guitar, and started off into "Stories". Gabby and I raised our banner, and as Taylor sang, "People said there was a connection between us," he smiled. I knew he knew we were there. Zac knew, too. Isaac was so wrapped up in the music that he didn't notice our banner.

After "Stories", they did "Sometimes", "MMMBop" and "Ever Lonely". Then they turned to the audience for questions. Many of them were basic, easy ones, but I was surprised when Gabrielle calmly raised her hand. She was so shy, I couldn't believe it when the guy holding the microphone came over to us.

"Hey Isaac, Taylor and Zac. I was wondering when you knew you wanted to be musicians."

"Great question," I whispered as she sat down.

"Oh…well, we kinda always knew," Taylor said.

"Yeah, I started writing songs when I was nine," Ike cut in. "It was called Rain. We grew up harmonizing to 50's/60's soul and rock and roll music, so harmony is really the basis of who Hanson is."

"We all contribute and love our music very much," Zac added.

"Of course, we have great fans!" Taylor shouted. The crowd screamed back. "Our last song is dedicated to you guys!" They launched into "I Will Come To You". Hanson received their applause and left the stage.

"That was great!" I exclaimed to Gabby.

"Hey, let's go and wait for them!" the girl behind us loudly exclaimed.

"I have to see Ike again!" another girl squealed.

I glanced at Gabby. She glanced at me and jerked her head towards the stage. She started off towards it.

"Gabby!" I yelled, running to catch up with her. What was she doing?

Chapter 8

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